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Thursday, July 7, 2011

New Lawyers' Salaries Plummet

I can hear the cheering in some quarters, and hardcore lawyer haters would say everyone is cheering.

But shed a tear or two for graduates of law schools in 2010. New lawyers in private practice had salaries plummet 20 per cent. The decline reflected that larger firms did not hire many new lawyers in 2010. The jobs in private practice were increasingly in smaller firms with lower starting salaries.

Starting salaries in private practice were on average $63,000.

Private practice salary declines were steepest, with the median salary for all new attorneys--private, government, public interest--declining 13 percent.

In another sign of distress in the law market, 20 percent of graduates with jobs (the lucky ones)had temporary positions.

About Me

I am an expert on energy, environment, green economy, competitive electric markets, and utility regulation with unique experience in and out of government. I am a Democratic candidate for Governor of PA. See www.hangerforgovernor.com. You can email me at john@hangerforgovernor.com. I have been both the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. I have made leading regulatory decisions, testified to Congress and state legislatures, and been interviewed countless times, appearing on CBS evening News, NBC Evening New, CNN, BBC, CBC, and many more outlets. I am a 1984 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and 1979 graduate of Duke University.